A Walk to the Park
by TallieCat
Summary: Jazz can't sleep.


**A Walk in the Park **

Jazz Fenton was restless. Her parents were out of town for the weekend for some ghost hunter's convention, and they had decided that she was responsible enough to be left in charge of the house and her little brother while they were gone. They had pinned four full notebook pages of instructions to the refrigerator (including an order to call them at least once every four hours and a handful of code words that could alert their parents to dangerous situations if needed), left some spending cash for pizza and admonished Danny to "make curfew and listen to his sister **_or else_**."

Neither of the Fenton siblings had any desire to act any differently from normal—Danny spent most of the weekend with Sam and Tucker (and probably half a dozen ghostly creepers) while Jazz spent her time reading and worrying. At the moment, it was nearly midnight. She'd feigned exhaustion around nine, when it became apparent that her little brother was trying to find a way to sneak out without her knowing. Actual sleep was impossible, however, when she knew he was out flying around doing God-knew-what with little or no backup…and that she was _letting _him.

After two hours of wishing she'd hear him come back inside the house she decided to do something completely out of character—she grabbed her keys and cell phone and went for a long walk. It was safe enough from human threats, she reasoned—everyone knew about the ghosts, and most everyone was too afraid of running into one to venture out at night much.

It was a dark night, full of fireflies and gentle breezes heavy with sweet summer smells. There was such a stillness…such a magic to the world around her that Jazz didn't even notice she'd gone all the way to the park until she heard the sound of running water. She decided she'd sit by the fountain a little while, just soak up the bit of impromptu freedom while she could. Chances were good she wouldn't have another opportunity like this for a very long time.

As she approached the fountain—slowly, so she wouldn't trip over any unseen obstacles—she realized that she wasn't the only one there. A soft blue glow illuminated the figure of a young woman—probably not much older than Jazz—already sitting on the concrete ring and trailing her fingers in the water. The girl stiffened as she became aware of Jazz's presence, but didn't turn around.

"Hey," Jazz said softly, realizing with a jolt that she knew who this was and that she really, really didn't want to startle her. "You're Ember, right? Ember McClain?"

The tension went out of the other girl's shoulders. "Yeah, what's it to ya."

It wasn't a question, but the tone in her voice made Jazz pause. "I…ah…I just wanted to tell you…you're good, you know that?" She winced a little, unsure as to why she'd said that.

Ember snorted. "Great, you want an autograph?"

"No, I just want you to know. You're really good. Even without the ghostly mind control thing."

_That _got the sulking girl's attention. She whirled around, gave the red-headed teenager a hard look. "You know what I am, what I can do, and you're still trying to chat me up in the middle of the night? Is there something _wrong_ with you?"

Jazz smiled wryly. "I don't exactly come from a normal family, if that's what you mean."

Ember gave her a closer look in the dark, wrinkled her nose. "Hey, I know you. You're the miserable dipstick's sister. The goody two-shoes."

Jazz gave the ghost a look of pained annoyance. "I'm not _that _bad."

"Heh, yeah, didn't you date Johnny 13? Snuck out for him too, didn't you?"

"Don't remind me," Jazz growled. "Rotten, two-timing jerk."

"He's always been a class act," Ember agreed. "Kitty's gonna hate your guts for a long time. And, you'll be glad to hear, getting beat up by your baby brother did a real good number on his ego. Not that there's any love lost between me and that pipsqueak…but I'd rank him over Johnny. 'Course, moldy cheese ranks over Johnny too…_._"

Jazz chuckled and sat down on the grass, stretching her feet out in front of her. "Gotta love little brothers," she said. "Most of the time."

"Someone invite you to stick around?" Ember scowled.

"No, but it's a free park. I came to sit here to think. You don't have to talk to me."

For a little while the sound of crickets and running water were all that filled the night. Ember's soft blue glow illuminated the fountain as she went back to trailing her fingers in the water, and Jazz's eyes were on the fireflies blinking silently in the air all around them.

"Why do you say I'm good?"

"Hm?" The question had been so soft that Jazz wasn't entirely certain the other girl had spoken.

"Why do you like my music?" Ember repeated, a little louder. "All I've got is one song."

"It's a powerful song, and you have an amazing voice. I'll deny it to everyone else, but the first time I heard you sing it I cried. It pulled something deep in me."

"It's just a _song_. Don't turn all wuss over it." Ember's tone was harsh, but her arms were crossed and her face was less than sure.

"It isn't _just_ a song," Jazz said, shaking her head. "It's _your _song. And feeling something isn't wussing out. It's obvious that you were feeling something pretty strong when you wrote it. I'm not going to intrude on that...but it is really good. You're a pretty great artist."

"An artist, huh."

"Yeah," Jazz said.

"Been a long, long time since I've called myself an artist."

"Ever think about writing something new?"

Ember didn't answer, and Jazz didn't push.

And then there was a loud, panicked cry from the sky above them. "Jazz!"

Ember leapt to her feet, and Jazz scrambled to put herself firmly between the battle-ready singer and the glowing green fists of her baby brother.

"Get away from her, Ember!" Danny yelled. "I'll blast you into pieces if you lay a hand on her!"

"You sound like a disapproving old man," Ember sneered at him. "'Fraid I'm gonna sully her honor, pipsqueak?"

"Why, you…!"

"Hold it!" Jazz hollered, putting her hands up. "Phantom…it's Phantom, right? Look, we're just having some girl time. She's not bothering anyone. Don't pick a fight tonight, okay?"

The white-haired boy looked as though he'd been slapped. "_Me _pick a fight?" he choked. "But you…I …she…**_girl time?!"_**

"Yes, _girl time_. So, go fight with another ghost. One who's actually…oh, I don't know…_doing something destructive?"_

"But it's….it's past _midnight!_ Why are you outside? With a _ghost?_ An evil, mind controlling, _angry ghost?"_

"Sheesh, baby pop, chill out. Do I look angry right now? Or at least, did I look angry before you poked your pimply nose in my face? And anyway, sissy here can't help me write a new song if I'm controlling her mind."

"Besides," Jazz jumped in, "I need some time with friends my own age. I don't have too many of those."

"But…but she's been your age for like, _thirty years!" _The green glow left Danny's hands as he looked at his sister with a scandalized expression.

"So? She's _still_ my age. And you _know_ my family," Jazz added. "It's not exactly safe to invite her over for a sleepover, is it? The park's much safer."

Danny looked from one girl to the other, mouth moving without sound.

Ember started to chuckle. "I think you broke him, Red. 'Least, you shut him up. One day you'll have to teach _me_ how to do that."

"Not trying to enslave the world is usually a good step in the right direction," Jazz said with a grin. "Not calling names helps, too. Good _night_, Phantom. Go home to bed. Or…uh…wherever it is you go when you're not fighting."

"But…but…"

"What's the matter, dipstick? Don't trust big sister to take care of herself?"

Danny briefly forgot he was supposed to be hiding his relationship from Jazz and said, "Well, she_ did _date_ Johnny 13!"_

"Why won't _anyone _let me live that down?" Jazz cried in exasperation. "It's been two weeks already! And," she made a pretense of narrowing her eyes, "how did you know about that?"

"I… I…saw you sneak out with him. From your window. That one time. And…oh, look at that! I have to go do…heroic ghostly…stuff! Ember, you try anything and you're dead!"

Ember gaped at the empty space the younger boy had occupied only moments earlier. "Are you freakin' kidding me?"

Jazz crossed her arms and smirked. "Works every time."

"He doesn't know you _know_?" Ember started laughing. "That's just too rich! He's actually freaking out! It didn't even occur to him that Kitty's been whining about it to everyone who'll listen. _Including_ him!"

Jazz giggled herself, "Yeah, well, I'm trusting you to not use this knowledge for evil."

"Maybe just once or twice," Ember said, still trying to quell her laughter. "I've got a rep to protect, after all. And besides, how clueless does he think you are? I kept calling you his sis."

"He thinks I'm as clueless as my parents," Jazz said with a sigh. "At least I can make it work for me once in a while."

Ember sat back down on the side of the fountain, crossing her legs comfortably and gesturing at the space in front of her. "You know, you're alright for a blood relation to the dweeb."

Jazz sat, smiling again. "So, you really want to write a new song? Or did you say that just to get Danny to back off?"

"I dunno," Ember said. "Been a long time. Longer than I can remember, honestly. What would I even write it about?"

"The best songs are the ones you write from experience," Jazz said.

"I could write one about your clueless brother. How he and his little girlfriend ruined my plans to take over the world." Jazz raised a pointed eyebrow, and Ember's serious expression cracked as she started giggling again. "You thought I was for real? Oh my god, I haven't laughed this much in a decade."

"Well hey, you never know," Jazz said. "I'm sure it was quite an experience."

Ember swung her ever-present guitar off her back and picked out a simple, catchy melody. "I really could have a field day tormenting him with his story in a song. On national broadcast. Let's see... 'This creepy little kid, he was just fourteen—his parents built a super crazy machine. At first it didn't work, but then the little jerk put his hands where they didn't belong—now he's half undead and his face is turning red because he doesn't want me singing his song!"

Her eyes were gleeful, and Jazz had to admit that the little rhyme _was _pretty clever for a spur-of-the-moment thing. "There you go, you just proved you can still make stuff up. But…I have to say it on principle, because he _is _my baby brother…don't you dare."

"Eh, I'll keep it off the airwaves 'cause I'm starting to like you...and 'cause it needs a lot of work. But I won't promise I'll never sing it to him or his tagalongs. I just wanna see their expressions."

"Another thing I'll never admit to anyone else," Jazz said. "I think I'd really like to see that too."

The girls settled into another comfortable silence, Jazz trailing her fingers in the water while Ember plucked out soft fragments of melody and occasionally hummed something under her breath. The fireflies were long gone before Jazz found herself unsuccessfully stifling yawns, and Ember glanced up at her unlikely companion. "Getting late, Red. Gonna hop along before the brother comes back to make another fish face at us?"

Jazz smiled, stood up and stretched. "Yeah, I'd better. He's probably pacing by the front door doing a Dad impersonation. He doesn't know I know that he knows why I've been out. This could be fun."

"Twisted," Ember said with a smirk. "I'll see you around. Wouldn't mind doing this again sometime."

"Me either," Jazz said, and offered a wave before turning and walking back towards her house. She didn't think for a moment the ghost had dropped her plans for world conquest, or that every encounter they had in the future would be friendly… but she got the feeling the other girl had enjoyed the evening at least as much as she had. And a part of her hoped that maybe she would get to hear a new song before too long. Maybe even help write it.

Danny was waiting for her, true to form—but there was little he could do besides stammer and look cranky. If she didn't tell him she'd been in the park with a ghost, he couldn't yell at her about it or tell their parents. And he couldn't tell them about her taking off in the middle of the night—especially after she hinted that she was well aware he hadn't been in his bed. It was a tailor-made impasse, and she took a fair bit of delight in it as she ruffled his hair and went up the stairs humming Ember's new melody all the way to bed.

**_Author's Note: _**_Just a little flight of fancy resulting from too many slow, late work shifts. Intended to take place somewhere after 13 and before Pirate Radio. _

_**Disclaimer: **__Will anyone actually come after me if I don't mention that I have no ownership over any part of this show? Just curious...!_


End file.
